Mountains to Climb

This week has been a week of learning for me.  I asked my district leader to give me a blessing because I was having a hard time with feeling disappointed with myself.  I knew I wouldn't be a perfect missionary right at the start, but I thought I would be doing better with the language and with everything else.  He blessed me with the ability to be patient with myself.  Then a couple of days later, he asked if I was praying for the gift of tongues.  I'd been praying for help with Tagalog, but not specifically the gift of tongues, so I started praying for that.  And in the first personal prayer, when I asked that, I felt my faith start to grow, just like is described in Alma 32.  It is amazing to me the power that prayer has, and that when we are receptive and listening, Heavenly Father will give us the things we need to accomplish the work He has called us to do.

This is a picture of my first trainer and first district leader--my mission field nanay and tatay :) I look so much like them, don't I?? ;D

And this is my awesome zone, during our zone activity :)

Another thing I've found that gives me a lot of guidance is my setting apart blessing.  We had a sweet sister in our ward copy it down as I received it, so when I want to review the counsel and promises in it it's nice to just be able to pull it out of my binder.  The power of the Priesthood is so real, and through it God truly gives us the direction we need.

I really am starting to love it here.  There are a couple of members, less actives, and investigators that truly have a special place in my heart, and whenever I look at them they remind me of different members of my family.  It makes it so easy to love them, and it gives me such a desire to bring them to the gospel, and help them realize the peace and blessings they can receive from living the principles of the gospel.  Seeing the young men in the ward makes me miss my brother, and want to be at home roughhousing with him haha.  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he always let me win ;) lol jkjk James!!  But I do feel like I've gained some additional family here, and it's really cool.

My quote this week is from one of my favorite (not-mission-approved) songs, "Mountains" by Lonestar.  "I've been around and I've noticed that walking's easy when the road is flat.  Them danged ole hills will get you every time.  The good Lord gave us mountains, so we could learn how to climb."  Both as a missionary and just in everyday life, we are faced with mountains.  Sometimes it doesn't seem like we can get over the mountains, but when we put our trust in the Lord He gives us that extra little boost we need to get to the top.  And when we're at the top, we can look back and see how far we've come, and how much we've grown.  And those moments are some of the coolest.

My scripture goes along with that.  It's 1 Nephi 18:3.  "And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things."  When we are climbing those mountains, we are getting closer to the Lord, and closer to the people He knows that we can become.  I am so grateful for the chance I have to be here!!  I am learning so much, about life, about myself, about my Savior.  Being a missionary is by far one of the most difficult things I've ever done, but also the best.  I LOVE IT!!

Well I love and miss you all and I hope that things are going well.  Lots of love from the Philippines!!

XOXO

Sister Pectol

My Guardian Angels are Really Busy!

Well, this week has been interesting. Honestly, not that much happened that's out of the ordinary, but right now, my ordinary is adapting to a new culture, so everything seems different lol. One of the funny things about the Filipinos is that they LOVE karaoke. And I don't mean just a little bit. We pass by houses all the time that have people bellowing songs to the videoke machines. It's hilarious. And the best part is that even when they're like me and can't carry a tune in a bucket, they still belt it. It's so entertaining!!

I had a really cool experience this week when we were teaching. We were supposed to be teaching a young recent convert, but when we went to her house there were 4 guys there hanging out. They were 15, 17, 21 and 21 years old, and were so interested in the lesson. The cool part for me was that as they talked to each other and to us, even though I couldn't understand all of it, they reminded me so much of my brother James. As I pictured him, it was like he was part of the group we were teaching. It made it so easy to love those young men, and to want to share the beautiful message of the gospel with them.

We're promised as missionaries that we'll have the Lord's angels around us to help us and bear us up. That's wonderful, but I'm pretty sure the angels surrounding me roll their eyes a lot. Between the crazy steep stairs in our apartment and my natural clumsiness, I'm a walking disaster. For example, a couple of days ago I was sitting on my bed reading the BoM, and I got up to get something off my desk. Well I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention, because out of nowhere my electric fan was suddenly under my feet and I was half kicking it, half tripping over it. I caught myself just fine, but the poor fan wasn't so lucky. It shot a piece of plastic off one of the fan blades, and started bouncing on the floor because of the missing chunk. OOPS. Luckily we had an extra fan downstairs, so I won't die of heatstroke any time I'm in our room. We don't have A/C, so the electric fans are literally our lifesavers. And then, when we were walking to an appointment, we had to step around a parked car. No biggie, except it was in a big mud puddle. I thought I was stepping into a dry spot, but apparently not, because I suddenly skidded forward and splatted black oily mud up my leg. Yum. Thank goodness our investigator had some water I could rinse off with haha.

And my umbrella broke!! Which wasn't my fault. It just randomly stopped working, and when I went to try to fix it I realized it had lost a spring when we were out proselyting. So that's on my shopping list, because this redhead is going to FRY without one lol.

I was sitting in the combined Sunday School class at church yesterday, when I suddenly felt the end of my braid move. There was one of the young men behind me flicking my braid!! He was absolutely fascinated haha. Then he asked about my freckles and if they were normal. It was hilarious. He kept trying to talk to me in Tagalog, and I was trying to do my best to keep up, but it just wasn't happening. I told Sister Arcangel that towards the end of my mission I'm going to come back to Sumulong 2nd ward, and say "Remember how bad my Tagalog was?? Well, listen to this!!" Hopefully by that point I'll know what I'm saying lol.

The scripture that I loved this week is D&C 6:32-37. I especially love verse 34: "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail." I'm learning that this is true. That even when we're faced with a challenge that seems impossible to overcome, the Lord is ALWAYS on our side, and He will not let us fail.

The weekly quote kind of goes along with that, and is something that I heard at our trainer/trainee meeting this week. I wrote it on a flashcard and taped it to the wall by my desk, and it has helped me through the couple of rough moments I've had. They're only short moments, but it still helps to have stuff like this :) "Things are going to work out today; they always do." I truly love the work here, and even though I've never been so sweaty in my life, I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to come to the Philippines and share the beauty of the gospel with the people here. It has brought me such comfort in my trials, and I know that it can help anyone who applies the principles, and I'm so excited to share that.

Mahal ko kayo!!

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol

I Think I'm in Love!!! Or I'm an Emotional Disaster

April 13, 2015

In all seriousness though, I'm pretty sure missionary work is bipolar lol. I spend a good part of my time loving it here, but I also spend some time wanting to cry cause I'm so stressed and frazzled. But I really am starting to love it. It's still super hot, and I'm still ALWAYS sweaty, and I still don't feel like I can speak any Tagalog, but it's ok cause I'm here doing what I need to be doing. I just need to make sure I get my sentence focuses right. I ended up saying "I know that you will help the Book of Mormon" to an investigator this week. OOPS!! But she got the gist, so it's ok XD

We got one of those cellphone service texts this week, and it was signed by...guess who...President Monson!!! Yeah, I kind of doubt that the prophet would be sending us texts about our cellphone service lol.

So, I've had a couple more firsts. I had my first MTC split on Wednesday, which was a lot of fun. I was so scared that they were going to split me and Sister Arcangel up! She seems like she's starting to get the area, but I'm still super lost. But, thank goodness, they didn't. We had a pretty good time though, so that was fun. I had my first General Conference in the mission field this weekend!! It was really nice, I was able to receive a lot of comfort and reassurance. Starting out in a whitewashed area has been difficult and I sometimes struggle to feel like I'm measuring up, but the talks that were shared were amazing and were what I needed.

I also ate my first Big Mac today!!! I can't believe I had to come clear to the Philippines to do that LOL. We had our district meeting this morning, so afterwards Elder Leilua (the district leader) treated us all to McDo's. I've never liked McDonald's, but today it was really good. I'm not sure if it's cause they cook the food differently in the Philippines, or if I'm just so excited to have a burger that even McDonald's is good haha.

I got compared to Elsa by some kids this past week. I think that just because I'm so white (seriously though--it's kind of ridiculous) they think that it's awesome. I personally thought I looked more like Anna then Elsa, but you know...people have different opinions ;D

The scripture this week is kind of different. Turn to Moroni 7:26. About halfway down the verse, continue the sentence across the page to verse 31: "And as surely as Christ liveth, bear testimony of Him." This is what I'm here to do. I know that Christ is my Savior, and that with Him by my side there isn't anything I can't overcome.

I've been reading Jesus The Christ in my personal study, and it has been such a blessing for me. On page 227, there was a quote that stood out to me this morning: "The Master chose them; they did not choose themselves; by Him they were ordained, and they could in consequence rely the more implicitly upon His guidance and support." I have been called by Christ to be here. I have His name on my nametag, and I am here to help others come closer to Him. I am so grateful for this opportunity. It definitely hasn't been easy so far, and I know it won't be easy in the future, but when I am being guided by my Savior it doesn't matter, because He will help me learn the things I need to.

Mahal ko kayo!!

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol

God Truly Calls the Weak

Hello everyone!!  It's only been a couple of days since my last email, so not too much has happened.  There was supposed to be a typhoon this past weekend, but so far we haven't even seen a hint of it.  I was actually looking forward to experiencing my first one, but I guess that will just have to wait.  They're a common occurrence here in the Philippines, so there will be plenty of opportunities.

I can tell the sun is starting to take it's effect on me.  I noticed that I'm starting to get a line from my shirts, and when I saw her at the temple Sister Latham commented on how many more freckles I have lol.  I'm honestly not sure if my shirt line is a sunburn or a tan, but being a redhead, I think it's more likely the first.

Well, I'm officially half Filipina!!  Sister Latu made eggs for breakfast, so I had an egg and bread with peanut butter.  Typical breakfast, no big deal, but I felt like something was missing.  I realized that the meal didn't feel complete because there wasn't rice!!  I guess that's one sign the culture is making me its own lol.  I got to try Jollibee's for the first time too.  Jollibee's to the Philippines is like McDonald's is to America--they're EVERYWHERE.

I also hand washed clothes for the first time this week.  I had never done it before so Sister Alfoja helped me out.  It wasn't too bad, but is definitely very time consuming.

Friday was a very hard day for me.  I've been very homesick, and it all came out Friday morning.  That was the first time Sister Arcangel has seen me cry, so I don't think she quite knew what to do to help.  Let me give you a list of the stressors that contributed to my breakdown:

--I was so homesick that I couldn't even think about my family without wanting to bawl, and I hadn't looked at their pictures once since I got to the Philippines cause I knew I would cry

--I'm trying to learn how to be a missionary while learning a whitewashed area, and trying to be obedient

--I feel like I don't know any Tagalog, and I try to participate in lessons but it's hard for me to speak and hard for them to understand

--Despite the fact that I'm putting enough Deet on to probably give myself cancer, I still end up serving as a smorgasbord for mosquitoes

--I'm ALWAYS sweaty

--I'm always being watched, partly because I'm white and partly because I'm a missionary, so I'm trying to always smile and be friendly

--I'm trying to be strong and faithful while going through all this

--I miss the Utah mountains and clean air.  There are mountains here, but I can't see them because of the buildings, and jeepneys and tricycles have the worst fumes ever

--I am completely inadequate of this calling, and I don't have the ability to do this on my own, and I don't feel like I'm measuring up

It's quite a list, right??  Well, following that list, is a list of miracles that have happened to me personally to make me feel just fine about everything.

--Friday night I got a letter from my mom that should have been waiting for me at the mission home but wasn't.  The fact that it was late was a blessing from my Heavenly Father though, because getting it Friday evening after being so homesick was such a tender mercy, and made me feel so much better.

--Even though I still miss my family and friends horribly, I know that a mission is a good thing and that they're being blessed for it.  And I went through and showed my pictures to Sister Arcangel, and was just happy to see the pictures.

--I am filled to the brim with excitement and gratitude to be here in the Philippines.  It is hard and it is a very new experience, but it is an amazing opportunity and I love that I get to experience this.

--We have more ward members working with us, and we've been able to get more potential investigators and contacts to teach, and I can see how open they are to the message.  It's amazing.

There have been a lot of ups and downs in just the past couple of days, but it has been amazing to learn the things I have.  I titled this email what I did because I have realized how completely inadequate I am.  BUT, I have also recognized that God knows my weaknesses and my faults, and when He issued this call He knew that it wouldn't be easy for me.  But through Him, I'm enough for this work.  With Him, I am enough to help people and to bring them the gospel.  With Him, I have the strength and the courage to go out and open my mouth, even when I don't know the language.  With Him, I can do all things.

John 15:16  "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."  God calls the weak, like me, but those He calls He qualifies.  He makes up the difference, and enables us to be able to perform the labors He has called us to.

"Being worthy is not being perfect."  Sister Michelle, the young women's president, said that in her testimony yesterday.  I don't know if she was quoting someone else or if that was her own words, but it definitely hit me powerfully.

"He (Heavenly Father) is aware of you, right there where you are at the very moment you read this letter."--My wise momma.  At the moment I read that sentence, I was in a packed jeepney, reading by a dim car light and shedding a couple of grateful tears.

I love and miss you all and I can't wait to see you.  MAHAL KO KAYO!!!

XOXO

Sister Pectol

Entry Into the Mission Field: Sumulong 2nd area, Whitewash, and our First Baptism Commitment!!

Hello everyone!!!

Wow this week has been insane!!  At the MTC, we went tracting with the Manila missionaries, which was fun but difficult.  Wednesday I got to meet President and Sister Revillo, and get assigned my new companion, and my nanay in the mission field!!!  

This is us at the temple this morning.  That's Sister Alfoja and Sister Latu, our kabahays, and Sister Arcangel and I.  She's so cute!!  And she's an awesome companion.  And yes, she really is that short.  Just to give some perspective to anyone who hasn't stood next to me recently, I'm 5'2" if I've been eating my vegetables and stand up straight.  I really am on the average-tall scale here, and it's really trippy.  There's an elder in our zone who's 6'3", so I'm wondering what it's like for him lol.

It's been a week of firsts though, that's for sure.  I rode in a jeepney and a trycicle (sidecar on a motorcycle) for the first time (which was fun but slightly scary--traffic is INSANE), I got my first Philippines bug bites, ate orange watermelon (which tasted regular), had Spam for the first time (and it was NASTY), and also had anchovies and pansiw.  Pansiw is a dish in which a fish is fried basically whole.  It was my first time eating fish with the head on, and I have to say, it was actually delicious.  Notice the fork and spoon.  Filipinos don't eat with knives, they just use the fork and spoon to pull food apart if it's too big of a bite.  

I've also gotten a lot more attention than I'm used to.  White skin is beautiful to Filipinos, and since I'm almost albino white (yay for redhead skin), it really gets their attention.  Most of the time it's not a big deal, people just stare and a lot of kids will gather round if we stop to teach.  But I have also been spoken to by men in a way that I've never been spoken to before, both in Tagalog and in English.  No matter the language, it's easy to get the gist.  But that's why we have companions, and why we aren't staying out after dark.  I don't like going home early, I always wish we could talk to more people, but I know God doesn't want us to be dumb, and we always make sure we're safe.

When I first walked in the door of our apartment, it was honestly kind of terrifying.  Our area was whitewashed, which means that they transferred all the elders that were here before us, and we're all new in this area.  So I'm learning how to be a missionary, how to be a Filipina, and trying to learn how to speak Tagalog, all the while trying to figure out an area that my companion doesn't know either.  It's been interesting.  Anyways, when I walked in the house, I panicked.  It was DISGUSTING.  I'm pretty sure the elders who were there didn't clean once the entire time.  We went right to work and it was clean in no time, so that was good.

This is me cleaning.  Don't I look attractive? LOL

Our apartment is really big, so that's fun.  The stairs are ridiculously steep though, it's almost like climbing a ladder.  I swear that angels have caught me at least 4 times when I'm climbing down the stairs so that I wouldn't fall and break my neck.

We got to our area in time to witness the baptism of a dad.  His family is all members, and he has a daughter on a mission and an RM son, so it was cool to see that.  It's been hard to do the work here because we don't know the area, so we've mostly been focusing on learning the area and developing relationships with members, because we need them to work with us.  But even with all that going on, we still have found some people to teach, and Sis Arcangel extended a baptism invitation yesterday to a mom we've been teaching and she accepted!! I hope it will pick up soon so we can start teaching more people.  We walk almost everywhere we go, so I get really cute dirt lines at the end of each day.  I wouldn't mind so much if it was just dirt, but we walk along crowded streets a lot so it's grime and pollution and all that stuff.  Oh well.  That's what showers are for haha.

I have 2 quotes for this week.  This first one our shuttle driver told us as we were watching the way pedestrians weave in and out of traffic: "People are hard to hit here because it's the land of coconuts."

This second quote is from Sister Trask, the Philippines MTC President's wife: "If the Lord does not bless you voice, He blesses the ears of those around you."  People around me get lots of blessings in church then!!!

My scripture comes from Mosiah 24:15  "...The Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."  I have struggled a little bit this week with homesickness, and lots of stress about my area and the language.  But I'm learning to put my trust and faith in the Lord.  I am so insufficient for this work, and completely inadequate.  But with Him on my side, I am enough.

Well, I love and miss you all and hope that everything is going well at home.  Mahal ko kayo!!

XOXO

Sister Pectol

Welcome to the Philippines!!

Well, I'm finally here in the heat and humidity!!  It only took about 21 hours of flying plus layovers, but whatever XD

I was able to call home from the airport, which was amazing!!  It was so good to hear everyone's voice!!  I will admit though, I was a total baby about it.  I thought I would be just fine, but when I heard my family's voices, I just lost it.  People must have wondered what was going on--an exhausted girl sobbing while she's talking on a payphone.  But, it was fun.  We managed to sleep according to the schedule here in Manila, so it hasn't been too much of an adjustment.  On the way from Tokyo to Manila, we rode in a GIGANTIC plane.  It was one of those double deckers, and it was huge.  So that was definitely an interesting experience.  I wanted to stay up and talk and be a missionary at least a little bit, but I was so tired I basically passed out for most of the plane ride.  I managed to give away a pass along card on the plane to the guy sitting next to me, but I'm pretty sure he took it just out of pity.  But, I passed it along, so I think that's being successful.

The bus ride from the airport to the MTC was probably the closest near-death experience I've ever had.  So, in the Philippines, there isn't really such a thing as lanes.  If the car fits, people drive.  So, that actually was a lot of fun.  I wouldn't enjoy driving in it, but being a passenger was definitely the experience of a lifetime.  President Trask is amazing, and was so welcoming, so that was really nice too.

The heat and humidity here are already ridiculous, so I guess I just better get used to it.  But I am so excited!!  I feel like I don't speak any Tagalog and I barely understand it, but that's ok.  I honestly am not even that nervous, I am just so excited and happy to be here.  I love it!!

Well, until whenever I next get to email, mahal ko kayo and have a great day!!

XOXO

Sister Pectol

Breakfast was good, no idea what I ate!

Final Days at the MTC!!

 

Hello everyone!!

Well, today's the day...my last pday here at the MTC!!  It completely blows my mind that I've already been here for basically six weeks.  We leave for the airport at 3:30 in the morning on Thursday, so that's going to be oodles of fun.  But even though I'm not necessarily looking forward to the 21 hours of flight time we have (plus layovers), I am super excited to get to the Philippines!!

Last week there were guys in the class building installing something in the hallway.  Well, come to find out, this plaque is from the Philippines and was brought back by a missionary.  He recently passed away, so his parents donated it to the MTC.  Isn't it so cool?

We had district inventory this past week, where we basically just went around and said our favorite things about each other.  It sound kind of sappy (and it was) but it was also really beautiful and touching.  It's so crazy how close we've grown in less than 6 weeks!!  It's kind of funny, because all the sisters in our district are completely opposite from their companions.  It's so cool to see how much we've all grown from that though!

So, this past week Sister Latham got to experience the joy of hearing me sing "And IIIIIIIIIIII will always love yoooooooouuuuuuu!!!!!"   By "joy" I mean she stood there looking in pain waiting for me to be done, and by "sing" I mean a sound that was somewhere in between a cat being kicked and a goat giving birth.  My family has experienced this joy many times, and has given up on telling me to be quiet.  They just sit there and endure until I'm done telling them how much I love them XD hahaha.  Well, I hope she at least felt the love, even if she didn't enjoy the music lol.

Every Tuesday there's a devotional in the evening, and the speaker this week was Quentin L Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve.  It was so cool!!  He talked about how important missionaries and missionary work is, and it was really cool to be able to be here for that.

So we actually got to talk to real investigators this week!!  There are people walking around the MTC that have gold tags that means that they're investigators, and we ended up talking with a couple this past week and actually set an appointment with them for Thursday.  It went so well!!  And it is so much easier to teach in English.  We had to go to class, but we have another appointment with them this upcoming Monday, so I am so excited for that!!

Guess who got to host this week??  That's right, this sista right here!!  It was so much fun!  I only got one girl though...and I took her to the wrong building at least two different times.  Welllll, navigation has never been one of my talents.  At least she'll have something to remember, right?

I have learned the gift of tongues is very real.  And before you go getting all excited and saying "OMGoodness she's fluent!"  let me tell you, I'm not at all.  But God really wants me to teach the gospel I guess, because when we're teaching (aka role playing with our teachers) I can speak Tagalog well enough to bear my testimony and get the things across that I want to, with minimal Taglish.  And I know it's the gift of tongues, because I can barely speak Tagalog any other time.  It's frustrating to not be able to speak it decent all the time, but I love that I receive the help I need when I'm trying to teach with the Spirit.  It's really cool :)

We had a small in-field orientation with our branch president this past week about the Philippines and the things we'll need to do there, so that was really cool.  And we had the official in-field orientation yesterday.  It was basically all day, but it actually was super helpful and informative.  AND IT WAS IN ENGLISH!!!  (You learn to appreciate things like that)

Thanks to all those who have sent me packages and cards and letters!!  I've loved getting them (who doesn't?) and they've been super fun parts of my day.  I'm working on notes to send back before I head to the Philippines, so you'll be hearing back from me soon :)

The scripture of the week is Alma 7:13 "Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh."  Brother Egget told us in choir that Christ could have known what we went through just through the Spirit, and He didn't actually have to suffer to understand.  But He chose to come to earth and to experience the pains He did, in the flesh, so that He wouldn't just understand how we feel, He'd know how we feel.  Isn't that so powerful??\

The quote of the week comes from The Spoken Word last Sunday: "Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement...fail successfully."  Sometimes it feels like all we are doing is failing, but  if we can at least learn from our mistakes, we are failing successfully.

I love you all!!  XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol